Friday October 7, 2016

It’s an exciting day here at Charter Homes & Neighborhoods. As you might have read in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, we announced this week our move into the Pittsburgh region with the release of our plans for Hastings, a new neighborhood we are creating in South Hills. It’s an amazing opportunity that will transform a former state hospital into a neighborhood complete with preserved spaces, gathering places, walking trails, century-old trees, and timeless architecture.

We specifically chose to expand into Pittsburgh, and use it as the first step in our national expansion, because of the region’s remarkable resurgence and rejuvenation. Pittsburgh represents the country’s greatest example of how a post-industrial city can reimagine itself and emerge as a center for education, healthcare, energy, and technology. It is a remarkable story that Charter can easily relate to. That’s because we too make our living reimagining the look and experience of the suburbs. The design of our neighborhoods are totally contrary to the conventional notion of suburban development, places subdivided without creative thought, where product comes before people, that seem to all look the same.

Our neighborhoods start with the story of the land, and incorporating what makes it unique into what comes next. Every neighborhood has its own story. There are parks and preserved green spaces that provide opportunities for people to gather. The streetscapes take into account how people will experience them, using the land, the architecture, and the views to engage people in where they live. Front porches, like a smile, say “Welcome” and provide outdoor rooms for people to enjoy everything around them, and the TerraPark® that replaces plastic and pressure-treated playground equipment with earthen mounds and rocks for everyone to enjoy. And then there’s Crossroads, with locally-owned shops along tree-lined streets with wide sidewalks, Charter’s take on the shop local movement where we hand select and support local businesses while giving people a place to walk to when they want to take a break and connect with friends.

We are excited to get started with Hastings, and proud to have the opportunity to now bring our unique approach to the Pittsburgh region. Reinvention has been Pittsburgh’s greatest asset over the past dozen years, and we look forward to setting a new standard for the suburbs.